Polymer Clay Lessons

Never satisfied me went looking for another project to tackle.  I decided to try my hand at polymer clay items.  There is an ulterior motive for this project.  Sometime in the future I would like to make my own beads.  There are hundreds if not thousands of places to buy beads through the mail.  My problem with this type of shopping is the time it takes to locate what I have in mind and then waiting for it to arrive.  This is becoming a real problem when it comes to holiday style beads.  My local craft stores never seem to carry beads for holidays.  I like offering special holiday items for my customers.  I also like having them done up ahead of time so I am not scrambling to get the items out at the last minute.
I have had my clay, tools and a toaster oven for a while now.  They have been sitting here laughing at me or that is the way it seemed to me.  For some reason I was intimidated by those little packages of color.  I wanted to take them and make a treasure out of them but I was afraid I couldn't get the results I wanted and even more afraid to waste the clay.  Things have been tight for us since I left my job and I try to not be wasteful.
So those bright packages have sat there until today.  I went to bed last night telling myself that in the morning I was going to get up and conquer my procrastination on this project.  First thing I learned was how grateful I was that I had spent the money on a machine to roll out the clay.  It was so nice to have sheets of colors rolled out in seconds.  Now cutting out the different shapes was a snap.  I twisted, rolled poked and sliced to get the effect I was looking for.  They were adorable!  I was so excited.
I placed those creations in the oven and waited to see what would happen.  There are difference in opinions on whether or not the fumes that come from the baking clay are toxic.  To play it safe I took my oven to the garage and set a timer.  I knew immediately when I walked in the garage the outcome would not be what I was hoping for.  Here is what I found.

The first thing I have to do is kick my self.  I have baked enough in my life time to know that not all ovens heat the same.  I should have done tests to figure out the best temperature and time for this particular project.  Second I should have only done one maybe two so to not waste so many.  I was so excited at how cute they looked before the oven I was over confident.
I spent the next hour or so placing small pieces of clay rolled out to the thickness that I used in the oven for different times and adjusting the temperature.  When I felt I was closer I placed another in the oven.  This time the result was this.

This is still a touched scorched but much better than the first time.  Whew!! What a day.  I am still unsure about how this type of clay should look and feel once it is cured.  I would love to hear from any of you who use polymer clay.  For today I am done with trial and error.  I will go and  spend more time reading what I can find on the subject.  I will go back at it tomorrow.  Today I conquered a silly fear of failing at this project.  Learning is always a good thing and it is not a waste of materials if it teaches you.
Is there something you are wanting to do or learn?  Go for it.  It may not come out like you are hoping but the learning experience will strengthen you in many ways.
Happy Crafting ALL.